Mission Statement

It is the mission of the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild to give knitters of all skill levels the opportunity to get to know other knitters, to learn new techniques, and to share their ideas, resources, and talents with the community.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

March Meeting

Everyone was excited about the program and the meeting started right on time.The program was "Tabletop Techniques" and there was lots to learn. Program chairperson Andi divided us up around three tables so we sat still and the instructors moved from group to group.The first technique for Table C (where I sat) was Julie, with Marsha's help, teaching us the Channel Isle Cast-on which uses waste yarn and is good for making a seamless toe on toe-up socks and for making stretchy edges for ribbing. If you think of the Long-Tail Cast-on as a kind of finger dance, the Channel Isle Cast-on is the tango of finger dances. Julie was very patient and demonstrated over and over until everyone got it. Thanks, Julie. Thanks to Marsha, too.

Next at Table C Vicki taught us EZ's Sewn Bind-off. That one reminded me a lot of Kitchener-ing a sock toe--sew through 2 stitches as if to purl and leave them on the needle, sew back through the last stitch as if to knit and pop it off the needle-- it seems like an excellent, stretchy way of binding off, fun too. We were all such good students that Vicki had time for an impromptu lesson on weaving in ends. That's something that I can always do better. Thanks, Vicki.

Then Zoe appeared at Table C to teach us about Fair Isle knitting with a bit of chart reading thrown in. She had an excellent tip for keeping your floats loose-ish (tuck the barest tip of a finger behind it when you lift the next color of yarn). I was excited to see that we weren't only making a swatch but an actual Fair Isle headband. Thanks, Zoe.They were very patient with students with skills ranging from beginner to advanced who also seemed unable to knit and not talk. ThankyouThankyouThankyou all.

After excellent snacks, we had Show & Tell. Carol showed the sampler afghan she made for her daughter and a trio of charity hats she made from the leftover yarns.

Vicki figured out how to make preemie hats and fingerless mitts on her sock machine.

Barbara brought an afghan and three 1-skein projects: a cowl, a pair of fingerless mitts, and a shawlette.Plan to come to the meeting on April 11 when Terri will teach us how to add bling (beads) to our knitting. Pre-registration is required and there is a fee of $2.50. You should come.